He turns and walks away. The movement is slow, controlled, but Zaria remains. Her golden eyes shine as she regards me with both confusion and hurt.
When she steps up to me, she smiles. “He’ll come around,” she says. “I know he loves you and I care about you, more than I thought I would or could.” Her voice is a salve to my broken soul. I pray that she’s right. I throw up all my prayers to the sky, to a deity I’m not sure I believe is listening.
“I don’t know,” I tell her. “I’ve never seen him so angry.”
“Anger is not forever. Love is stronger than any emotion, even hate. And once you’ve given your heart, no matter how much it hurts, you cannot dig someone out.”
“I don’t know if he felt as strongly about me as I did him. Even when I told him I love him, he never once said it back to me.” The admission pains me to say, but she needs to know where I stand.
“He does love you,” Zaria whispers. “He just doesn’t know how to show the emotion because he’s never witnessed it between his parents. His brothers may love him, and may have been there for him, but that’s a different kind of relationship.”
She may be right. Perhaps Finn does feel something and that’s why he’s so hurt by my lies. But even so, he’s walking away, and I can’t stop him. Even if I tried, the bastard is stubborn.
“Give him some time,” Zaria says, cupping my face in her delicate hand. The contact is like electricity. I knew from the moment I saw her I would be attracted to her. She’s an exotic beauty.
“I will be back in Thorne Haven,” I inform her. “I’m not giving up on him, but I’ll allow him a few days to calm down.” It’s the truth. As much as Finn wants to walk away, I won’t let him. “Take care of him.” It’s a whispered plea, but she hears and nods with a smile. Zaria leans up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine. The warmth of her feels like coming home. It’s the same feeling I get when I’m with Finn. And I know that no matter what happens, she’ll love him just like I do.
Once they’re gone, I stay in the graveyard. It’s quiet. The silence of the dead is far more calming than that of the living. I take in my mother’s tombstone. She should have been buried in the family crypt, but because my father walked out of Tynewood, leaving me with the Birchwoods, she’s been put with the rest of the townsfolk—the commoners—as the Elders would refer to them.
Perhaps I should head down to see Grecia, to talk to her. Grecia Birchwood is one of the only daughters of the Gilded Sovereign. There are times when I wondered if she would be accepted into the society that was so adamant about only allowing men to join.
I haven’t seen her in so long. I grew up beside her, as if we were siblings, and I miss seeing her. Knowing that her father is out of town has me moving to my car without another word to my mother’s grave.
My heart was broken the moment my dad told me he was leaving Tynewood. I was alone here, having to make a new life, with no family. He thought the Society would offer me what I needed, but what he didn’t know, is that all I ever wanted was him.
I haven’t spoken to him since that day. And I have no desire to do so. I forgave him for walking out. I will move on; I have moved on.
I turn my focus to the car and slide into the driver’s seat. Once the engine purrs to life, I pull out of the lot and head straight up the main road that leads to the east end of Tynewood.
It doesn’t take me long to find the house I spent three years in. When I turned eighteen, I walked out and vowed never to return. It’s strange how life throws you obstacles that bring you back to places you never thought you’d see again. I didn’t think being part of Finn Thorne’s life would force me to come back to a place I know I don’t belong. I knew it then, and I most definitely am convinced of it now.
I pull up to the entrance and press the buzzer. Without acknowledgement of who’s at the drive, the metal gates slide open and I’m welcomed without so much as a hello. By the time I pull into the circular drive that stops right outside the front door, it’s open and Grecia is standing on the porch.
“Never thought I’d see your face in town again,” she tells me. A smile curls on her full lips. The girl is a stunner, but she’s always been like a sister to me. And even if I wanted to go there, I know her heart lies with Tarian Calvert. One of the four who now sit at the Elders’ table of the Gilded Sovereign. Only, he’s never allowed her in. Come to think of it, he has never let anyone get too close.
“I came to you for advice,” I tell her as I pull her into my arms. “I need your thoughts on a situation I’ve gotten myself into.” We enter the house, which seems as if things haven’t changed.
“So,” Grecia says, when we settle with a drink in hand, in the familiar living room where we used to sit as teenagers. “Tell me all about what you need help with.” Her eyes shine as she regards me.
“I’m in love,” I blurt out quickly. I don’t have to think about it because I know I am. There is no question in my mind that Finn is mine, and now, Zaria too.
“Who’s the lucky bastard?” she asks with a glittering smile. Grecia has known about my inclinations since we lived in the same house.
“Finn Thorne,” I tell her easily. Her eyes widen in shock. She knows all about our link to the societies, to the Thorne Haven faction. Even though I hadn’t met or seen the Thorne brothers before I got to Thorne Haven, I knew of them.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Grecia curses, “It’s like a blast from the past walking in here, Jarred.”
“Hey, you know me, why take the easy route when you can dive right into the deep end.” I shrug it off, but my stomach twists as I recall the memories of meeting Finn, falling for him, kissing him the first time. All of it culminates and hits me right in the heart. “I fucked up,” I tell her, admitting to my mistakes. “I should have told him who I was when I arrived in Thorne Haven. But I was scared he knew about the societies and wouldn’t want anything to do with someone from the Gilded Sovereign.”
“And he’s angry because you hid the truth from him,” she finishes for me, and I nod. “Well, you shouldn’t have hidden who you are and where you come from,” she tells me nonchalantly. She’s always had a level head dealing with our party-animal ways. Even being around all the males of the Sovereign, Grecia being the only female for so long, she’s become something of a therapist to us.
“I know. I knew it the moment I looked into his eyes the first time and realized I loved him.”
“Loved or love?” She challenges in that way she has. It’s why I came here tonight. I needed someone to hit me across the head with something fierce. A bucket load of common sense.
“Love. I’ll always love him,” I tell her. There is no lie in my words, and she won’t find any in my eyes either.
For a long moment, she watches me. Her stare penetrating those walls I’d built when I left. I never wanted to see them again because I knew my darkest secret could never be forgiven, but sitting here with her, I realize that they love me unconditionally. She does. Ares, Etienne, Philipe, and Tarian. All of them are my brethren and I ran from them, instead of stepping up to take my place in the Society.